How do I use an api with an api key in Xcode?

Question

I am currently trying implement Tracker Networks API into an Xcode project. I know how to do this using Node.js and html, but can’t seem to figure it out using Swift in Xcode.

The website says to use a get request using this —> “GET https://api.fortnitetracker.com/v1/store”

And then they say to, “To make use of our APIs we require you to use an API Key. To use the API key you need to pass it along as a header with your requests.”

And here is my API key (fake api key): TRN-Api-Key: d93742a5-94d0-482c-8714-23c6660225555

If some could show me how to set this up it’d mean a lot to me. Thanks.

Answer 1

Here's a quick answer that will hopefully point you in the right direction.

• Step 1: Download Postman
• Step 2: Open up Postman, paste your url into the GET field
• Step 3: Click the "Headers" tab.

TRN-Api-Key is going to be the key, your API key will be the value. It'll look like this.

Play around with Postman making calls, make sure they work, etc. It's a lot easier than ****ing around with Xcode setting breakpoints, etc. Once you've got it figured out what calls you're going to be making...then go to Xcode.

Once you've got your GETs kicking back JSONs, then cut and paste it into something like https://app.quicktype.io. For the endpoint in the example URL I'm using, it gives you this:

struct Response: Codable {
    let items: [Item]
}

struct Item: Codable {
    let metadata: [Metadatum]
}

struct Metadatum: Codable {
    let key: String
    let value: String?
}

• Step 4: Look into URLComponents. That'll be how you create URLs to feed to your URLRequests.

• Step 5: When you make URLRequests, you'll need to dump in the API key name and the API key value into the header. It should be pretty self-explanatory on the documentation page.

Here's the basic "physics for poets" code:

let fortniteChallengesURL = URL(string: "https://api.fortnitetracker.com/v1/challenges")
if let unwrappedURL = fortniteChallengesURL {
    var request = URLRequest(url: unwrappedURL)
    request.addValue("YOUR API KEY", forHTTPHeaderField: "TRN-Api-Key")
    // Make your request and handle the response
}

Alternatively (perhaps preferably), you can use a networking framework like Alamofire for making requests. Here's how to customize headers in Alamofire.

Here's how to use the Codable structs in parsing the returns from your endpoint.

Here's the finished product using Apple's "factory" classes, if you want to dump it into a playground. You'll need your own API key.

struct Response: Codable {
    let items: [Item]
}

struct Item: Codable {
    let metadata: [Metadatum]
}

struct Metadatum: Codable {
    let key: String
    let value: String?
}

let fortniteChallengesURL = URL(string: "https://api.fortnitetracker.com/v1/challenges")
if let unwrappedURL = fortniteChallengesURL {
    var request = URLRequest(url: unwrappedURL)
    request.addValue("YOUR API KEY HERE", forHTTPHeaderField: "TRN-Api-Key")
    let dataTask = URLSession.shared.dataTask(with: request) { (data, response, error) in
        // you should put in error handling code, too
        if let data = data {
            do {
                let json = try JSONDecoder().decode(Response.self, from: data) as Response
                // HERE'S WHERE YOUR DATA IS
                print(json.items.count)
            } catch {
                print(error.localizedDescription)
            }
        }
    }
    dataTask.resume()
}

Answer 2

Use this sample code to add it to the header field:

if let url = URL(string: "https://api.fortnitetracker.com/v1/store") {
    let request = URLRequest(url: url)
    request.addValue("d93742a5-94d0-482c-8714-23c6660225555", forHTTPHeaderField: "TRN-Api-Key"
    request.httpMethod = "GET"
    let dataTask = URLSession.shared.dataTask(with: request) { (data: Data?, response: URLResponse?, error: Error?) in
        //handle response here
    }
    dataTask.resume()
}